--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We have two ears and one mouth so that we…" description: "\"We have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak.\" — Epictetus" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/571/epictetus-413_communication_we-have-two-ears-and-one-mouth-so-that-w_110833.jpg" --- # We have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice… ![“We have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak.” quote by Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/571/epictetus-413_communication_we-have-two-ears-and-one-mouth-so-that-w_110833.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/571/epictetus-413_communication_we-have-two-ears-and-one-mouth-so-that-w_110833.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/571/epictetus-413_communication_we-have-two-ears-and-one-mouth-so-that-w_110833.jpg) > “We have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak.” [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Humans are designed to prioritize listening over speaking, fostering understanding and restraint. **In simple terms:** Listen twice as much as you speak. Key Takeaway More listening improves communication. Themes communication listening self‑control Mood calm reflective Type advice wisdom When to use this quote - team meetings - counseling sessions - conflict resolution Key Concepts social dynamics emotional intelligence Practical Applications - practice active listening techniques - set personal speaking limits Questions to Reflect On - How does increased listening change group outcomes? - What barriers prevent people from listening more? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Communication](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communication/) ## Related quotes > [“We have two ears and one mouth, therefore we should listen twice as much as we speak.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zeno/we-have-two-ears-and-one-mouth-therefore-we-should-listen-twice-as/) Zeno > [“We have two ears and one mouth, so we should listen more than we say.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/as-quoted-by-diogenes-la-rtius-zeno-of-citium/we-have-two-ears-and-one-mouth-so-we-should-listen-more-than-we-say/) as quoted by Diogenes Laërtius Zeno of Citium > [The reason why we have two ears and only one mouth is that we may listen the more and talk the less.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-reason-why-we-have-two-ears-and-only-one-mouth-is-that-we-may/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Having two ears and one tongue, we should listen twice as we speak.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/turkish-proverb/having-two-ears-and-one-tongue-we-should-listen-twice-as-we-speak/) Turkish proverb > [“If you let a person talk long enough, you’ll hear their true intentions. Listen twice, speak once. - 2Pac”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-let-a-person-talk-long-enough-you-ll-hear-their-true/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [... God gave you just one mouth but He gave you two ears, so you should listen twice as much as you speak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-vujicic/god-gave-you-just-one-mouth-but-he-gave-you-two-ears-so-you-should/) [Nick Vujicic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-vujicic/) > [I think that the larger and more complex the business gets, I have to listen twice as much as I speak.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-ahrendts/i-think-that-the-larger-and-more-complex-the-business-gets-i-have-to/) [Angela Ahrendts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-ahrendts/) > [Listen twice as much as you speak.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/listen-twice-as-much-as-you-speak/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [That's why we have 2 ears and 1 mouth. We ought to listen twice as much as we talk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meicee/that-s-why-we-have-2-ears-and-1-mouth-we-ought-to-listen-twice-as/) Meicee > [Listen twice as much as you talk, since you were born with two ears and one mouth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terri-farley/listen-twice-as-much-as-you-talk-since-you-were-born-with-two-ears/) [Terri Farley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terri-farley/) > [You have two ears and one mouth because you're supposed to listen twice as hard as you speak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-alexandra/you-have-two-ears-and-one-mouth-because-you-re-supposed-to-listen/) [Gabrielle Alexandra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-alexandra/) > [God gave people 2 ears and 1 mouth because He wants us to listen twice as much as we talk.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-harris/god-gave-people-2-ears-and-1-mouth-because-he-wants-us-to-listen/) [Joshua Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-harris/) > [Nature has given to men one tongue, but two ears, that we may hear from others twice as much as we speak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/nature-has-given-to-men-one-tongue-but-two-ears-that-we-may-hear-from/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [Nature has given man one tongue, but two ears, that we may hear twice as much as we speak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/nature-has-given-man-one-tongue-but-two-ears-that-we-may-hear-twice/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [Nature hath given men one tongue but two ears, that we may hear from others twice as much as we speak.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/nature-hath-given-men-one-tongue-but-two-ears-that-we-may-hear-from/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) ## More by Epictetus > [“We are at the mercy of whoever wields authority over the things we either desire or detest. If you would be free, then, do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/we-are-at-the-mercy-of-whoever-wields-authority-over-the-things-we/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [Practice yourself, for heaven's sake in little things, and then proceed to greater.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/practice-yourself-for-heaven-s-sake-in-little-things-and-then-proceed/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [Do not laugh much or often or unrestrainedly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/do-not-laugh-much-or-often-or-unrestrainedly/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [When men are unhappy, they do not imagine they can ever cease to be so; and when some calamity has fallen on them, they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/when-men-are-unhappy-they-do-not-imagine-they-can-ever-cease-to-be-so/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [We are not disturbed by what happens to us, but by our thoughts about what happens to us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/we-are-not-disturbed-by-what-happens-to-us-but-by-our-thoughts-about/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [Don't be prideful with any excellence that is not your own](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/don-t-be-prideful-with-any-excellence-that-is-not-your-own/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [You know yourself what you are worth in your own eyes; and at what price you will sell yourself. For men sell themselves at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/you-know-yourself-what-you-are-worth-in-your-own-eyes-and-at-what/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [Crows pick out the eyes of the dead, when the dead have no longer need of them; but flatterers mar the soul of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/crows-pick-out-the-eyes-of-the-dead-when-the-dead-have-no-longer-need/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [As a man, casting off worn out garments taketh new ones, so the dweller in the body, entereth into ones that are new.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/as-a-man-casting-off-worn-out-garments-taketh-new-ones-so-the-dweller/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [If you would improve, submit to be considered wihout sense and foolish with respect to externals. Wish to be considered to know nothing; and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/if-you-would-improve-submit-to-be-considered-wihout-sense-and-foolish/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [“For it is not death or pain that is to be feared, but the fear of pain or death.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/for-it-is-not-death-or-pain-that-is-to-be-feared-but-the-fear-of-pain/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [What else can I do, a lame old man, but sing hymns to God? If I were a nightingale, I would do the nightingale's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/what-else-can-i-do-a-lame-old-man-but-sing-hymns-to-god-if-i-were-a/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [People are disturbed not by things, but by the view they take of them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/people-are-disturbed-not-by-things-but-by-the-view-they-take-of-them-2/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [“Small-minded people blame others. Average people blame themselves. The wise see all blame as foolishness”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/small-minded-people-blame-others-average-people-blame-themselves-the/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [All philosophy lies in two words, sustain and abstain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/all-philosophy-lies-in-two-words-sustain-and-abstain/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) [Explore all 577 Epictetus quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) ## More Communication quotes > [Some people still believe you should just fall in line with what's going on - and that's scary. It makes a mockery of freedom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-robison/some-people-still-believe-you-should-just-fall-in-line-with-what-s/) [Emily Robison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-robison/) > [The problem posed by indirect speech acts is the problem of how it is possible for the speaker to say one thing and mean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-searle/the-problem-posed-by-indirect-speech-acts-is-the-problem-of-how-it-is/) [John Searle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-searle/) > [We should have a conversation when we hang up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benedict-cumberbatch/we-should-have-a-conversation-when-we-hang-up/) [Benedict Cumberbatch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benedict-cumberbatch/) > [Sing like no one's listening, love like you've never been hurt, dance like nobody's watching, and live like its heaven on earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/sing-like-no-one-s-listening-love-like-you-ve-never-been-hurt-dance/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [A poet is wounded into speech, and he examines these wounds, meticulously, to discover how to heal them. The bad poet harangues at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-r-delany/a-poet-is-wounded-into-speech-and-he-examines-these-wounds/) [Samuel R. Delany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-r-delany/) > [“To engage in dialogue is to serve others via whatever is real inside you; to engage in debate is to ultimately serve the illusions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oli-anderson/to-engage-in-dialogue-is-to-serve-others-via-whatever-is-real-inside/) [Oli Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oli-anderson/) > [What it comes down to for me is this: Will the technologies of communication in our culture, serve to enlighten us and help us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-waters/what-it-comes-down-to-for-me-is-this-will-the-technologies-of/) [Roger Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-waters/) > [In dialogue, there is opposition, yes, but no head-on collision. Smashing heads does not open minds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-tannen/in-dialogue-there-is-opposition-yes-but-no-head-on-collision-smashing/) [Deborah Tannen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-tannen/) > [A dialogue is very important. It is a form of communication in which question and answer continue till a question is left without an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/a-dialogue-is-very-important-it-is-a-form-of-communication-in-which/) [Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/) > [I get afraid of the dark if I'm in a great deal of dark, and I have to move around inside of that fear...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emil-ferris/i-get-afraid-of-the-dark-if-i-m-in-a-great-deal-of-dark-and-i-have-to/) [Emil Ferris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emil-ferris/) > [I've been in a serious conversation with one of my children, and a fan has come up. I've been in a public bathroom and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-reddy/i-ve-been-in-a-serious-conversation-with-one-of-my-children-and-a-fan/) [Helen Reddy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-reddy/) > [Life as we know it is fundamentally unsatisfying. I think most folks feel this to be true. They know that a life of aimless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-yates/life-as-we-know-it-is-fundamentally-unsatisfying-i-think-most-folks/) [Michael Yates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-yates/) > [Disability, in general, hasn't been included in the conversation about inclusivity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-winston-george/disability-in-general-hasn-t-been-included-in-the-conversation-about/) [Jason Winston George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-winston-george/) > [“Women will be at least 50 percent of the communications community workforce … from executive suite to interns. Why? The “integrated” agency will be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yoram-wind/women-will-be-at-least-50-percent-of-the-communications-community/) Yoram Wind > [There are certain things you must not say in spite of the fact that supposedly democracy means free speech. No. You are not allowed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-eubank-sr/there-are-certain-things-you-must-not-say-in-spite-of-the-fact-that/) [Chris Eubank Sr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-eubank-sr/) [Browse all 21,506 Communication quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communication/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Epictetus" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/we-have-two-ears-and-one-mouth-so-that-we-can-listen-twice-as-much-as/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Communication" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/we-have-two-ears-and-one-mouth-so-that-we-can-listen-twice-as-much-as/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/571/epictetus-413_communication_we-have-two-ears-and-one-mouth-so-that-w_110833.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/571/epictetus-413_communication_we-have-two-ears-and-one-mouth-so-that-w_110833.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/571/epictetus-413_communication_we-have-two-ears-and-one-mouth-so-that-w_110833.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak.” — Epictetus", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Epictetus", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "We have two ears and one...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/we-have-two-ears-and-one-mouth-so-that-we-can-listen-twice-as-much-as/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/we-have-two-ears-and-one-mouth-so-that-we-can-listen-twice-as-much-as/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```